A typical computer network may have a backup and recovery system for purposes of restoring data (one or multiple files, for example) on the network to a prior state should the data become corrupted, be overwritten, subject to an attack from a virus, etc. Traditionally, the backup and recovery system may include physical magnetic tape drives that store backup data on magnetic tapes. After a transfer of backup data to a given magnetic tape, the tape may be removed from its tape drive and stored in a secure location, such as in a fireproof safe.
The backup and recovery system may alternatively be a virtual tape library (VTL)-based system that emulates but replaces the physical magnetic tape drive system. With a VTL-based system, virtual cartridges, instead of magnetic tapes, store the backup data. The virtual cartridges may be communicated to a remote appliance, where the cartridges are stored and possibly retrieved for future backup operations.